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Sorry, Dana and Tammy – I have only had 2 nestings this year – got confused. I did not believe I was going to have any at all, and then a new pair showed up – and all their eggs have been white, which was a thrill and a first for me. This last nesting is due to fledge around August 4, which only has two babies in it as three eggs did not hatch. I don’t imagine they will have any more broods this season – which is okay with me, as we have had temps over 100 degrees the past few days – I have a heat shield on this box and believe it is helping out, as this box is in full sun. Parents are feeding them from the hole now, which means they are getting larger. Hope the fledge is successful.
Congrats Dana – glad you had a good season. My 3rd nest of blues is due to fledge in a few days – only have two left as there were 3 eggs that did not hatch. Sure have enjoyed watching the parents feed them – no mealworms this year as they did not seem to be interested, telling me this is a new pair of parents this year.
Welcome Tim to our Blueford forum – glad you found us!
Yes, I believe having a water source available is a good idea if at all possible. I have a birdbath right in my back yard, fairly close to my nestboxes. Even the squirrels like it (and also deer). It sure is fun to watch the squirrels jump into the birdbath and splash like the birds do. In the wintertime I have an extension cord that comes out of hubby’s workshop in the backyard with a heat element on it and that keeps the water from freezing – really great for the birds in the winter. What we won’t do for our bluebirds & others!!Well, even after all these years there is always something to learn – LEAVE NATURE ALONE!!
Hubby and I just went outside to check this box and babies &/or eggs. The two hatched babies were there and moved – there was NO sign at all of the other eggs which did not hatch meaning the parents disposed of them. The nest was just as neat & clean as it was to begin with.
I guess it is possible they buried the eggs but it was just too clean & neat for that.
This has really been a good lesson/issue for me – although this year I have been very more “hands off” than I used to be in the past (age will do that!!) – probably one reason is that this pair of parents had no interest at all in meal worms (I had gotten some very early and a lot of them had died) but they would not even come to the worm bowl at all. This means that nature is working well and the parents really do know what they are doing by getting the babies’ food from nature & all the bugs around !!!!
What a lesson . . . .
Sure wish I had had all this information when I was doing Bluebird Presentations at different places & towns – but you learn new things every day.David, most spookers will get tangled to some extent if you get any wind at all. If mine get wet and stick together I will sometimes go out and separate them which works for a while, but they will get tangled. I don’t believe this hurts their purpose as long as they are moving somehow. Hope yours works – I still am not seeing many HOSP – in fact I have had none for quite a while now – don’t know what is going on but I LOVE it! My 5 bluebirds in 2nd nest are due to hatch any day now – could have today but I did not get a chance to check the box – parents are still around and going in & out so I am not going to bother them for a day or so.
P.S. If you want to try it I suppose some light weights on the streamers might help some.Yes, bluebirds are strong and a resilient batch of birds – it is of course easier for both parents to tend to the babies, but one can do it when necessary. I have also had this happen. Good luck with the fledging process.
Thanks, Tim & Tammy- my usual fight against wrens after they have started is to keep taking out their twigs and they will continue to keep trying to build a nest. BUT you need to keep making them bring in more sticks and NOT let them lay an egg!!! They can do a lot of damage just like HOSP can – difference is of course they are a protected species which you cannot harm.
P.S. I actually have fun keeping those wrens busy finding & depositing their sticks – just need to be vigilant about not letting them build nest & then lay an egg!David, somewhere here (probably on the main bluebird site (Sialis.org) tells that this fishing line is not recommended because other birds (including Blues) can get caught in it and get hurt. The Van-Earp trap is the way to stop those HOSP. But you could give it a try until you get something better.
Yes, I just checked and it is the Sialis.org website (which has oodles of information about bluebirds) that tells about this fishing line matter (it is the very first big paragraph on their website). Good luck!Hope you get that 2nd nest, David. I believe my blues are interested in a 2nd nesting as I have seen them at two different boxes. BUT I also hear and have removed sticks from a wren’s nest and still hear it. I check on “their” box very often to play the game of “pick up sticks” which keeps them busy and away from the BB nests, since we are not legally able to dispose of them. P.S. I really have fun playing this game with the wrens!
Oh, David, SO SORRY TO SEE THIS – just shows all of us how those HOSP can kill and how necessary it is to have a spooker up to at least help. I don’t believe I have had any kills when I have a spooker up – they are fantastic I think. And Phillyblues, sorry for your loss also.
PLEASE EVERYONE – ESPECIALLY NEWCOMERS. The house Sparrow (HOSP) are capable of killing any bird they can get to with no problem at all. We must guard against them and the VanErt trap is a valuable instrument in ridding these killers. Anyone here can help you with where to get these.Just a thought, David – was this attack from a HOSP or maybe a wren since they were on the ground?
Yes – 5 white eggs turned into 5 baby blues! I have been taking out wren nestings now – they have been using a box at the very back of our yard – whish the bluebird pair would start another nest in their old box close to our home but nothing so far.
http://www.bluebirdnut.com/feeding.htm website site has good information on feeding. They recommend 200 a day to a nesting pair (including babies), this split in two, one batch in the morning and another later in the late afternoon. Sad about your BB Hope – but nature sometimes takes over. Good luck the rest of the season.
Serena, I believe you should not give up on the spooker, as the HOSP would probably just go inside and kill whatever was in the box. And believe you me, this IS NOT something you would want to see. Tammy has given you great information. (I don’t believe the wire in front of the nestbox hole is widely used and not usually recommended, as the bluebirds or others could get trapped in it.) Maybe these new bluebirds will get the idea and keep the HOSP away if possible. My pair this year are new so I was concerned about putting up the spooker but they got used to it right away. Now I have 5 babies getting big, with parents feeding them well and with the spooker flying in the wind! Good luck!
